Chapter 5: The Brothers' Childhood (Part-II)
Time flew by at its usual pace. Six months old Sasuke became a three years old kid. And there's only one phrase that could describe him correctly and that is 'brother worshiper'. Whereas Itachi was as always protective of his little brother, Sasuke was downright possessive of his older brother. The first step Sasuke took, was toward Itachi. The first word he said was Nii-san. Any new thing that Sasuke learned was to make his big brother proud. And Itachi was indeed proud of his otouto. So very much. Every day Itachi's love for his little brother only grew. Their bond only became stronger. No word could ever describe the feelings both brothers felt for each other.
It was practically common knowledge that during infancy, Sasuke had enjoyed his brother's attention immensely. Many had thought that when Sasuke would grow up, he wouldn't crave Itachi's attention so much. That other things would start occupying his mind. However, that didn't turn out to be the case at all. It seemed that at the age of three, Itachi's attention was essential for Sasuke's survival. He craved it even more than he did when he was barely a few months old. Now everyone suspected that Sasuke might never stop wanting his brother's attention. It really wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Sasuke could go on without food or water for a day but not without Itachi's attention. And the older one always indulged. It appeared that Itachi actually liked it very much that his little brother wanted his attention so much. Though this did make their lives a bit difficult. The first year after Sasuke was born, the brothers were pretty much inseparable. But eventually other aspects of their lives, especially Itachi's started to interfere with the time they spent together. Nowadays, a huge portion of the day Itachi had to spend in school and doing homework. Sasuke was not happy about it at all but he understood his brother had to study. Soon he'd start going to school too. Besides, despite the busy schedule Itachi still somehow managed to find time for his little brother. Therefore, Sasuke had nothing to complain. Also, because they could only spend limited time with each other, both brothers enjoyed each other's company immensely during that time.
Speaking of Itachi Uchiha's academic life, well the boy was a pure genius. Plain and simple. He was able to skip his second grade just after one year at school. Also, despite being the youngest in his class, he was still the top student. Itachi was called the prodigy of the Uchiha family and rightfully so. The boy wasn't just an academic genius but he was quite mature for his own age as well. Itachi understood things, that others probably would've taken years to comprehend. His mind did work in the most mysterious ways. Even at such a young age. Itachi was acutely aware that he came from a wealthy and powerful family but he never showed any arrogance about that. Neither did he flaunt his talents to his classmates and made them feel inferior. If anything, he never hesitated to help another if his help was requested.
The first impression of Itachi to a stranger would be that he was an aloof unsocial boy. He didn't have any friends. Didn't talk to anyone unless spoken to. Many thought of him as arrogant as well. They thought that the reason Itachi didn't speak with others was because he looked down on them. Thought them inferior to him. However, that wasn't the truth at all. Itachi kept everyone at an arm's length because he knew that even if he understood the people around him, they wouldn't understand him. So why bother? Also, that was his way of protecting himself as well. After all, people never like something or someone they don't understand. Not that Itachi wanted people to like him or anything. He only wanted one person's affection and that was his little brother. And Sasuke was the only one who Itachi didn't keep at an arm's length. Obviously, three-year-old Sasuke didn't fully understand what that meant. What a privilege it was. Exactly how much power Sasuke had over his brother. Truth be told, even Itachi's parents sometimes had a hard time reading the boy. Also, they could never figure out what Itachi was really feeling behind that impassive mask of his. The only person who did understand Itachi well enough was Shishui. But sometimes he too couldn't be so sure about his cousin/best friend.
Someone might mistakenly assume that Sasuke got to be especial simply for being Itachi's little brother. Though it was true for the most part but there was more to it. Surprisingly Sasuke was very sensitive to his brother's moods. He could sense what his nii-san was feeling to some extent. Sasuke himself wasn't aware of it but it was proven to Itachi on many occasions. Sasuke's action or rather reaction to Itachi's mood made it quite clear to the older. Itachi found this fact endearing but it never made any sense to him. After all, it wasn't as if he and Sasuke were twins. It would've made sense if they were. Was their bond truly so strong? If there was ever any doubt, an incident that took place in Itachi's life cleared that up right away.
The weather was great that day. The day a tragic incident had occurred. It had quite an impact on Itachi's emotional and mental state. The morning of that day however was very normal. Mikoto had gone to Sasuke's room to wake up her darling boy. As usual, the kid made a fuss about waking up. Sasuke was always grumpy after waking up. Especially if the person waking him up wasn't his dear brother. Little Sasuke had got out of bed with eyes still full of sleep. But instead of going to the bathroom to freshen up, the boy started walking out of his room. Little Sasuke here had a morning ritual before freshening up. According to his habit, Sasuke had started looking for his nii-san. Not to mention, he had found him in no time despite all the sleepiness. Itachi was in the library. He was sitting on the leather couch there with a book open on his lap. Without saying a word, Sasuke had moved the book away and got on his brother's lap as if he owned that place. And in Sasuke's mind, he certainly did. While straddling Itachi, the younger wrapped his arms around the elder and buried his face in Itachi's neck.
"Good morning nii-san." The three-year-old murmured into his brother's neck while nuzzling his face in there. It appeared Sasuke was about to fall asleep again since his brother's warmth was so very comforting to him. Being in Itachi's arms was the best place for little Sasuke. It was like that from the very beginning.
"Good morning otouto" said Itachi with a happy smile. He pulled Sasuke closer to him as he wrapped his own arms around the boy. The older brother too didn't feel that the day really started until Sasuke greeted him in the morning.
This morning ritual of Sasuke's began as soon as he learned how to walk. If for some reason Itachi didn't come to wake him up. Sasuke would go searching for his big brother the first thing in the morning. And like a human GPS tracker, Sasuke would always find his brother no matter where he was in the mansion without fail. It was after greeting Itachi and snuggling with him for a while that Sasuke would go off to freshen up and afterward have breakfast. Every morning it was the same.
"I knew he'd be here. Oh, good grief" said their mother though with an affectionate smile. Mikoto was very happy that both her sons loved each other so much. And that they shared such a strong bond between them. A bond that only seemed to be growing stronger each day.
"Sasuke get off your brother and go freshen up. And Itachi go have breakfast. Your father will be dropping you off to school today."
"Yes mother," said Itachi obediently. Sasuke on the other hand grumbled unhappily but nevertheless got off his brother's lap reluctantly, knowing he had to let his nii-san eat breakfast before leaving for school. Itachi smiled at his little brother's unhappy face.
"Sorry Sasuke," said Itachi as he poked at Sasuke's forehead lightly. It was just something Itachi did whenever apologizing to his otouto. It was a special way of showing his affection and the fact that he was sorry. A special way reserved only for his beloved little brother.
"I'll spend time with you when I'm back okay," Itachi said making Sasuke happy immediately.
"Promise?" The kid asked excitedly.
"Yes promise. I'll even read you the story we hadn't finished the other day." That made Sasuke even happier. He quickly gave his brother a short but tight hug before running off towards his own room.
Later Fugaku had dropped Itachi off at school. The Leaf Academy. It was the most prestigious and famous school in Konoha. The school was established by Hashirama Senju many decades ago when Konoha first became the capital of Fire country. Currently, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the headmaster of the academy. The school had a record of producing many successful people over the years. In fact, Fugaku, Izuna, and Madara too had graduated from this very academy. Despite many rich people's kids studying at this institution because of its reputation, it wasn't exactly a rich kids' school. It was a public school so anyone was allowed to study there. The academy even gave scholarships to students whose family wasn't financially endowed. And the rules as well were the same for everyone here. If anyone did something that deserved punishment, he or she would get detention even if the student's father was some rich businessman. Also, donations to the school never won any favor for any student. Not even when the donation amount was an eight-digit number. Well, the academy didn't earn such a high reputation for nothing.
Once inside the academy building, Itachi quietly walked up to the notice board. A huge crowd was gathering in front of it. The results of the first term exams had been published. Itachi wasn't in a rush though. He planned to wait till the crowd was cleared before looking up his own results. However, he didn't need to wait for long as a few girls came running to him as soon as they spotted him.
"Itachi-kun, you've topped again this time." One of the girls cheerfully announced. The others started to praise him too. Occurrences such as this were nothing unusual for the Uchiha prodigy. Itachi was even aware of his fan clubs at school. Not that he'd ever acknowledge them.
"I see. Thank you for letting me know." Itachi said politely.
When he looked around the other students, Itachi saw that many of them were looking at him with jealousy and envy. It was to be expected and Itachi was pretty much used to of it by now. Not that he liked it but he was mature enough to make himself used to both positive and negative attention. Truth to be told, Itachi appreciated neither kind of attention. But he never said anything to anyone. Most of the negative attention that Itachi received was from boys. The reason was fairly simple. Almost every girl in the school had a crush on Itachi Uchiha. Be it older or younger or of the same age. They never failed to give Itachi dreamy eyes. And that earned the Uchiha prodigy plenty of glares from the boys.
Fortunately for Itachi, there were a few in his class who did treat him normally. And in return, Itachi also interacted with them the most at school. In his own way, Itachi even considered them his friends.
While Itachi attended his classes, back home little Sasuke was busy drawing a picture of himself and his nii-san, holding hands. Surely, he was going to present the drawing to Itachi as soon as his brother got back home. Predictably, Itachi would receive the drawing happily and praise Sasuke for his amazing work. And that in return would make little Sasuke very very happy. The effort and hard work, Sasuke was putting into the drawing were amusing to see. Of course, he wouldn't give his nii-san anything that wasn't perfect.
Sasuke was hurrying up because his big brother would be home soon. He needed to finish up before Itachi arrived. Sasuke was vigorously coloring the background when he suddenly stopped. It was kind of abrupt. In a blink of an eye, Sasuke was running out of the room as fast as he could. He had gone to his mother looking very anxious and restless.
"Mom, I wanna go to nii-san." Sasuke said very seriously. Mikoto however couldn't take it seriously. Instead, she sighed out heavily while shaking her head at her younger son in hopelessness. Obviously, she thought that Sasuke wanted to go to Itachi because he was simply missing him too much. But that hadn't been the case at all. The dreadful feeling the little boy was experiencing was there for a reason.
"Sasuke, your brother will be home soon," Mikoto said while ruffling Sasuke's hair affectionately.
"Just go and play for the time being." With that Mikoto left to mind her own business. On any other occasion little Sasuke would've pouted at being denied but this time he only got more restless and worried. He didn't like what he was feeling and hoped from the bottom of his heart that his big brother was alright.
"Nii-san." The three-year-old had whispered to himself. Hoping that his brother would come home soon and he'd get to see with his own eyes that everything was alright. And that he was experiencing this bad feeling for nothing. Unfortunately, Sasuke's fear only came true.
Back at the school, a terrible thing happened. A great tragedy had taken place. And it indeed involved Itachi. Not long ago, after the classes ended for the day, Itachi was walking down the parking lot to get to his ride back home. Suddenly a car had charged toward him out of nowhere. Not to mention at a full speed. The intention of the driver was pretty clear. He was there to kill Itachi. It was an assassination. For a moment, Itachi was frozen on the spot, therefore couldn't move out of the way in time. The car was sure to hit and kill him, hadn't it for the fact that someone pushed him out of the way. The car however did hit someone. A boy named Tenma who had pushed Itachi and saved his life. But alas Tenma couldn't save himself. The poor soul took a direct hit and died on the stop. By the time, Itachi could grasp what had just happened, he found himself looking at the bloodied and broken body of his dead friend lying on the road. Itachi was so shocked. He was physically unhurt but his mind however took a severe hit. And this scar will last for a long time in the boy's mind. Itachi couldn't move a single muscle in his body or even blink his eyes for that matter. And it was like that for a long time or at least it felt that way to Itachi.
People had immediately rushed to him and Tenma. A crowd was formed around Itachi. The killer had already taken off. Someone had called the cops, and another had called for an ambulance. The other students who had witnessed this incident looked very shaken. The teachers got busy trying to calm them down. The school authority had immediately called Fugaku. All these things were happening around Itachi but none of that registered in the boy's mind. He remained utterly unresponsive.
As soon as Fugaku got the call from school, Madara and Izuna had also learned about the incident immediately. Things simply escalated from there. First and foremost, they made sure that Itachi got back home safely. Afterward, Madara and Izuna visited the morgue to see the dead boy. They felt terribly sorry for Tenma and his family. Only if they could do anything to bring the boy back to life. But no matter how grateful they felt that Tenma had sacrificed his own life to save Itachi's, the cruelty of reality is that bringing someone back from the dead was an impossible task. Izuna consoled the boy's family as best as he could and Madara had promised them that their boy would be avenged.
It wasn't said out loud but Madara had also decided to take Tenma's family under his care. He would make sure that they were well taken care of for the rest of their lives. This was the least he could do to repay Tenma's sacrifice. Not long after, Tenma's father found out that all his debts were miraculously taken care of. He even got a promotion in his job. Madara did it in a way so that the family wouldn't suspect anything and think that the Uchihas were trying to pay for Tenma's life with money. The last thing Madara wanted to do was offend Tenma's family. The Uchiha family was furthest from being innocent. Especially Madara. But that didn't mean they weren't capable of good deeds. There was goodness in each member of the family. They got feelings and emotions too. It was just that they were very good at keeping their good side hidden. It wasn't unreasonable though. In the corporate world, where it was dog eats dog kind of situation, goodness was something everyone was always ready to exploit.
Speaking of the assassination attempt itself, Madara had ordered his most skilled and trusted men to investigate the matter and find the culprit as soon as possible. Who the hell would dare try and kill an Uchiha? Whoever it was needed to be put down immediately. The hired assassin had ditched the car and blew it up with a bomb at the first opportunity after running away from the school parking lot. On the first day of the investigation though, the assassin was found dead. Obviously, someone had killed him so that there was no lead to the real culprit. Despite that, the investigation didn't come to a dead end. The Uchihas wouldn't give up so easily. It was just that the bastard behind all these would just get to live a little longer. Needless to say, the security of the Uchihas increased overnight. Especially for Itachi and Sasuke.
On the other hand, Itachi had taken his friend Tenma's sacrifice to the heart. It affected him greatly and made him terribly sad. He felt guilty too. Itachi felt that it was his fault that his friend had died. Being an Uchiha Itachi knew someone would try to kill him at one point in his life. Sure, he didn't think it'd be this soon but still, he should've been cautious. Itachi shouldn't have let anyone get close to him. He shouldn't have made any friends. If Tenma didn't consider Itachi his friend, surely the boy wouldn't have tried to save him. And then die doing so. Tenma wasn't alive because he was involved in Itachi's life. No matter how insignificant his involvement was up till the moment he died for Itachi. After this incident, Itachi was bound to isolate himself more around other people.
Itachi had attended Tenma's funeral in the morning. The same night, he couldn't sleep at all. Itachi was not only sad but angry as well. Angry at the man who killed his friend. Angry at his father who had told him not to let this death affect him so much for being an Uchiha he was sure to witness more deaths in his life. Angry at his uncles for they were still unable to find the one responsible for his friend's death. But most of all Itachi was angry at himself. For he was not only the most responsible for Tenma's death but he was also helpless to do anything to avenge his friend. For the first time, Itachi regretted not being an adult. Though none of that anger or sadness was visible on Itachi's face. He had even accepted his father's advice acting perfectly polite.
No one was aware of Itachi's inner turmoil. Well, no one except for a certain someone. It was quite late at night. Itachi was gazing out the window unable to sleep with how he was feeling. Since Itachi was alone at the moment, the boy didn't bother to hide his sadness. His beautiful eyes reflected the pain he was feeling. However, Itachi's solitude didn't last for long for his little brother had quietly slipped into his room. It was way past Sasuke's bedtime. The little one should've been sleeping like a log by now. But he appeared to be wide awake. It wasn't really an uncommon thing for Sasuke to sneak into his brother's room at night. In fact, he did it quite often. Sometimes to sleep in with his brother, sometimes to cuddle and hear stories, or sometimes to play some kid's game. But it usually wasn't at such a late hour.
"Why are you still wake otouto? You should be sleeping right now." Itachi said to Sasuke as his little brother walked up to him. Itachi had also covered up his sadness quickly. Wiping away the tears before Sasuke could see them.
"But nii-san, you're wake too." Sasuke pointed out as he sat on his knees in front of his brother. Itachi sighed out heavily.
"I can't sleep otouto." Surprisingly he confessed, however not really expecting his little brother to understand why exactly he couldn't sleep. After all, Sasuke was only a three-year-old kid. Also, he didn't know any details of what had happened. All Sasuke knew was that a boy at Itachi's school had died. Therefore, what Sasuke said next, had really surprised Itachi.
"Nii-san you are sad." He stated without any doubt in his voice, not to mention Sasuke sounded very upset about it as well. Obviously, he didn't like that his nii-san was sad. Itachi on the other hand had to wonder how did Sasuke know that. He was certain his face wasn't showing any sadness at the moment.
"What makes you think I'm sad?" The older brother asked curiously. In response, Sasuke tilted his head cutely as he looked into his brother's eyes.
"Your eyes nii-san." The three-year-old said.
"My eyes?" Itachi questioned with confusion.
"They don't look happy. Nii-san why are you sad?" Sasuke asked with utmost anxiousness. He had to know what made his brother so sad. He just had to.
"It's nothing otouto." Itachi lied.
"I'll feel better tomorrow." He tried to assure little Sasuke but apparently, it wasn't good enough.
"But I want nii-san to feel better now." Saying that Sasuke threw himself at his brother. He wrapped his little arms around Itachi and hugged him tightly. The younger buried his face into the elder's chest. Itachi too embraced Sasuke back and pulled his little brother as close to him as possible.
"Are you sad because of the boy who died nii-san?" Sasuke asked hesitatingly. Upon getting no response from his brother, Sasuke pulled away a little to look at him.
"Please don't be sad nii-san. Mom said that boy has gone to heaven now which is a very nice place. And that he'd be very happy there. So, you don't have to feel sad for him nii-san. Please, I don't want my aniki sad." Sasuke said in a desperate voice of a three-year-old. After this Itachi had to smile for his brother's sake. The last thing he wanted was to make Sasuke worried.
"You are right Sasuke. Tenma is in a better place now. I won't feel sad anymore. Thank you, Sasuke. You made me feel better." Itachi assured and his words were indeed sincere. Being comforted by his little brother was just what he needed. However, despite Itachi's assurance, Sasuke still gazed deeply into his brother's eyes. As if to see for himself if his brother was telling the truth about not being sad anymore. Well, whatever Sasuke saw in Itachi's eyes, made him happy immediately and he flashed a huge grin at his nii-san. And then he went right back to nuzzling Itachi's chest again like a little kitten.
"Now Sasuke's happy too. I can't be happy if nii-san is not happy." The kid mumbled into his brother's chest. Itachi had heard it quite clearly and at that moment he realized that their bond was not only strong but it was unique as well. And if at some point in life Sasuke too started realizing just how special their bond was and that he was actually capable of perceiving his big brother's emotions and feelings flawlessly, then Itachi would never be able to hide anything from him. Ever. There would be no secrets between them.
During their childhood, Itachi didn't think there was anything he'd need to hide from his little brother. Unfortunately, things changed when the brothers grew up. And what Itachi had found endearing in childhood, became something for him to worry about later. If only things weren't so complicated between them. If only they were like normal brothers. If only...